This Childish Burden of Mine
by Quiet Harmony-chan
Summary: Levi would walk into the bar and would see the little girl. He was used to her dirty and loud ways, always shrugging it off as childishness and her age. After the fall of Wall Maria he once again stumbles upon the small ball of noise and dirt but makes a promise that binds the two together. Watching over her was a challenge, after all she wasn't a soldier but a little girl.


Saturday evening always promised a large crowd in a bar. And in the _Poisoned Flower, _a relatively small bar in Shigashina_, _they were no exception to this rule. The wooden benches was filled with hard-working men and women who wished to talk a load off and share gossip and a good drink between wasn't the fanciest of places, in reality it was just a two story stone building with a thatched roof, but plenty of people liked to come to it thanks to the service of it owner, Dinah Hathway and her two daughters. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of roasting potatoes slathered in fresh butter, a treat that was always sold on Saturday evenings, as well as alcohol. The _Poisoned Flower _was famous for its whiskey and most people were happy to drink it when they didn't want the beer or fancy wines that more 'sophisticated' patrons drank.

However the normally boisterous and idle chatter that could be heard all the way outside was now quiet and strained. People eyed a long table close to the small fireplace and whispered about the occupants there while watching out of the corners of their eyes. They looked haggard after a long few weeks of constant work and they had gone through plenty of rounds of alcohol to get through the stress of it. They had an air of indifference to the whispers that circulated the room and talked with a young bar maid with unruly red hair.

The Survey Corps.

The men and women who left the safety of the walls to go kill titans and investigate the world outside. They were not well liked by the civilians, or even some other branches of the military, but most people were not going to speak too badly about them to this night. That didn't mean the humans respected this group, not in the slightest, it was more because they were afraid of who had wandered in this night.

"When you all came back this last time I didn't think you'd be in one piece!" The bar maid said excitedly, large blue eyes wide with wonder. She was young, at least seventeen, and had yet to make an opinion about the military. For now all she knew was that her Mother highly respected them and that the men were mostly handsome.

An older man grinned and took a shot of whiskey off her worn tray that was cluttered with other items that would be brought back to the kitchen. "Well we persevered, especially when I remembered your sister would be so lonely without me, Rose."

The girl's large nose wrinkled and she looked back to her older sister who was taking an order from a few old men who had just arrived. "You better not say anything like that in front of mother. She already said that you shouldn't harrass a girl her age."

An auburn haired woman nodded solemnly as she cut her chicken. "She's right, you're a dirty old man going after a kid."

"That's not true you know, Wisteria is twenty."

"In the fall." A deep yet feminine voice said with pseudo pleasantness. "So until then keep you eyes a wanderin' else where, Oluo."

Everyone at the table's eyes were trained on an older woman and Rose immediately went over to a patron who asked her for another round of beer. She had long blonde hair that was twisted into a braid and sunken in blue eyes. Her hands were rough from hard work and a sneer set on her rugged face.

Oluo bowed his head as if concentrating on his plate. "I meant nothing by it, Ma'am."

"You better not have." She said, her hands set on her wide waist. "My little girl has big dreams and don't need any of your commitment and pretty words."

The auburn hair woman began to snicker, obviously finding the situation hilarious, but this only caused the woman to look at her. "You say anything, Petra?"

The woman stopped. "N-No, Mrs. Daianah."

The blonde was about to say something else when hoarse yet muffled screaming came from the very back of the room. Everyone in the room went silent as the sound of shattering glass and vulgar cursing boomed through the thin walls before a wooden door banged and a streak of brown and blue went through the room to hide under the table that the survey corps was sitting at. Quickly following was a middle-aged man with greying hair and dark green eyes with a towel in hand.

"Get back here you little imp!" He stopped in front of the customers, his tanned cheeks flaring with a bit of red. "I'm sorry to interrupt but can you fish the child from under the table?"

"No, don't!" She tried to whisper but it was actually normal talking just a tad bit breathy. "He's going to beat me for borrowing the cookies!"

Dinah sighed and shooed the man away. "Let her be, Charlie."

"But Ma-"

"I'll pay for them, just stop making a scene in front of the customers."

The man huffed but stopped when he saw a small head pop up, the untamed brown hair all over the place and blue eyes laughing at him. He glared at them causing the girl to shrink back as the man walked away. "Charlie's so mean."

A worn looking soldier laughed at the girl's statement. "Some people would say that the corporal is mean, but you like him just fine."

The girl crawled from up under the table, her blue dress picking up all the dust and dirt. When she was finally on her plump little legs she went over to a seat far to the left and grinned up at the occupant. "I like Mr. Levi, he's funny."

The man rolled his eyes at her words. "Whatever, Brat. You just like using me as a way out of your shitty situations."

She shook her head, loose dirt flying out of it. "That's not true...always."

Dinah sighed and ushered her youngest daughter away from the table. "It's late now Lily, go on to bed."

The little girl pouted and clung to the corporal who immediately grimaced when he felt the grime of her day transfer to him. "But I wanna stay up and talk to everybody!"

"We'll be here tomorrow." Petra said with a soft smile. "When we do we can tell you about some of our trip."

The girl's eyes immediately lit up and she detached herself from Levi. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart."

The girl giggled and said her goodbyes before going up the flight of steps at the front of the massive room that led to the living quarters of the family. When she left so did Dinah, excusing herself so that she could help her daughters make their rounds. When she did an almost serene silence took over the Survey Corps. Coming to this bar and seeing the Lily was a quiet reminder that they had a job to do in protecting the ignorant people of the outside world. All Dinah's girls heard stories of was the rare silly moments that happened to them or the extremely brave ones. They never heard the gory, cruel, and cold life of a soldier and as long as those ignorant smiles remained they never would.

**...**

**A/N: And there we go. For those of you who are wondering if there will be any pairings between Levi and Lily, no. Levi is in his late twenties/ early to mid thirties so that would be weird. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this story!**


End file.
